The River Café (Brooklyn)

The River Café is a Michelin starred restaurant located on a former coffee barge in the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge. It has offered its own ferry service from Wall Street. Opened in 1977 by Michael O'Keeffe, who has also owned several other New York City restaurants, it was one of the first fine dining restaurants in the city to promote locally sourced and organic food, American cuisine, and high-end California wines. Heavily damaged due to Hurricane Sandy in fall 2012, it reopened in February 2014.

River Café
Restaurant information
Established1977
Head chefBrad Steelman
Food typeAmerican cuisine
Dress codeJacket required
Rating1 Michelin star (Michelin Guide)
CityBrooklyn
StateNew York
Postal/ZIP Code11201
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40°42′13.28″N 73°59′41.47″W
Websitewww.rivercafe.com

History and operations

Michael "Buzzy" O'Keeffe, who also operates other venues including Manhattan's Water Club, opened The River Café in summer 1977 on land on the Brooklyn waterfront leased from New York City, after twelve years of obtaining permits and other prep work.[1][2] In 1981, long before the neighborhood, now known as Dumbo, was accessible via NYC Ferry, the restaurant instituted a house ferry from Wall Street.[3] Its success on a formerly derelict stretch of waterfront influenced the development of the area.[2]

The restaurant pioneered local sourcing, organic and free-range food,[3] and, in an era when New York fine dining restaurants usually offered mostly French wines, high-end California wines.[2][4] It was also one of the first fine dining restaurants in New York to showcase American cuisine.[5][6]

While staff such as the wine director stayed for more than forty years,[7] The River Café is known for incubating American chefs, including Larry Forgione, Charlie Palmer, David Burke, and Rick Laakkonen.[2][5][8] Brad Steelman has been head chef since 2000.[1]

Despite changes to the dining industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, The River Café retains a dress code of jackets required.[9] In 2012, a past and a current employee alleged that the restaurant discriminated against both casually dressed patrons and those wearing Orthodox Jewish clothing (who are forbidden to order alcohol) by strictly enforcing a minimum charge that was waived for undercover reporters.[10][11]

Hurricane Sandy
Entrance on Water Street

The restaurant occupies a former coffee barge that rests on an underwater pier in the East River.[2] In October 2012, flooding from Hurricane Sandy caused damage including corroded electrical wiring, lost food and wine, and the destruction of antiques and a piano. Walls also needed replacement after the storm due to mold.[12][13] The River Café was closed for over a year for repairs, despite hopes that it would reopen in fall 2013, either on the anniversary of the storm or around Thanksgiving.[14] It reopened in February 2014[1][15] with a change in its wine focus,[4] and regained its Michelin star.[16]

See also

References
  1. Wells, Pete (May 20, 2014). "An Old Flame Reignited". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 16, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  2. Miller, Bryan (July 31, 2017). "View From the River Café: 40 Years of Feasts and Firsts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  3. Greene, Gaele (April 13, 1981). "Of Food and the River". New York Magazine. pp. 60–61.
  4. Asimov, Eric (February 27, 2014). "A Storm Washes Away Old Ideas on Wine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  5. Schrambling, Regina (August 29, 2001). "The Restaurant That Launched a Thousand Chefs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  6. Hodgson, Moira (May 5, 1982). "Made in America: An Elegant New Cuisine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020.
  7. Asimov, Eric (September 10, 2020). "After 43 Years, the Wine Sentinel of the River Café Stands Down". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  8. Grimes, William (February 13, 2002). "Restaurants; A Magnet for Lovers, And Chefs, Too". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  9. Gallagher, Jacob (June 21, 2021). "'Jacket Required' No More? How the Pandemic Changed Dress Codes". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  10. Karni, Annie (October 21, 2012). "DUMBO restaurant The River Cafe discriminates against Jews: workers". The NewYork Post. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  11. Yakas, Ben (October 21, 2012). "Employees Claim DUMBO's River Cafe Is Very Anti-Semitic". Gothamist. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  12. Satran, Joe (October 30, 2012). "River Cafe, Flooded By Storm Surge, One Of Many NYC Restaurants Hit Hard By Hurricane Sandy". Huffington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  13. Bellafante, Ginia (November 10, 2012). "At River Café, a Loss of the Finer Things". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  14. Fabricant, Florence (December 17, 2013). "River Café Opens Again After Hurricane Sandy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  15. Lutz, Jaime (January 7, 2014). "River Cafe set to reopen for first time since Sandy". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
  16. Fabricant, Florence (September 14, 2014). "New Michelin Guide Has New York Star-Studded". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023.
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